Rashid Khan has got the best out of his players: Ashgar Afghan

Afghanistan’s rise to top-level cricket is nothing short of a fairytale. Over the last two decades, the Asian side have risen quickly up the ladder and have constantly been a thorn to the others in the competition. 

But it was in the T20 World Cup 2024 that they went one step further, beating New Zealand, Australia and Bangladesh en route to their first-ever semi-final appearance. Integral to their success is none other than the 25-year-old Rashid Khan, who has skippered the side with some composure. 

“I feel Rashid has been the captain of the tournament. He has led by example. He has been an inspirational captain, a match-winner with the ball, and very effective with the bat,” Ashgar Afghan told PTI. 

Rashid’s captaincy was on display when they beat Bangladesh in the final Super 8 fixture, with inspired bowling changes and intelligent field setups for different batters. Not only that, but the leg spinner put on a show for the ages, finishing with figures of 4/23 in Afghanistan’s eight-run win. 

“Most importantly, he has been able to get the best out of his players. And this has been one of the major reason of Afghanistan reaching the semis. When I was captain of the Afghan team in 2017, he was the vice-captain and he showed leadership skills then as well,” he added. 

“If you ask me, what has been the number one reason (behind Afghanistan’s success), I would say this team’s exposure to international cricket and T20 Leagues all over the world throughout the year,” he said.

In the batting department, it has been the partnership at the top of the order - Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran - who have put on consistent displays. The duo scored 441 runs and have the best-ever numbers for a batting pair at any edition of a T20 World Cup. 

“They are the most successful opening pair of the tournament scoring maximum number of runs. While Gurbaz is the leading run-scorer, Zadran is at number 3 (in the list).

“Moreover, they always gave Afghanistan a rollicking start to help the team post a formidable total or chase down stiff targets,” he observed.

Afghanistan’s pace unit have also shown its class in the tournament, with 41 wickets in the competition, the most for any pace bowling unit. In addition to that, they only average 11.3 with the ball while maintaining an economy of seven. 

“Farooqi, Naveen, and Rashid have taken 45 wickets combined. This is amazing. Afghans are dominating the batting and bowling charts. They are getting crucial wickets at crucial times and have been game-changers,” he concluded. 

Afghanistan will take on South Africa in the first semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2024 at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba on June 27 (Thursday).

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